Meta to initially open prime retail locations
across Western Canada, leveraging
partnerships with Second Cup and Licensed Producers to provide
premium consumer experiences
OTTAWA, May 15, 2018 /CNW/ - National Access Cannabis
Corp. ("NAC" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: NAC), Canada's best practices leader in delivering
secure, safe and responsible access to legal cannabis, today
announced its new brand targeting the Canadian recreational
cannabis market. Meta Cannabis Supply Co.™, or Meta™,
is the Company's new innovative and premium recreational brand,
which will open retail locations in select provinces as well as an
e-shop on the Meta website. In addition to NAC's existing footprint
of 11 coast-to-coast medical clinics and 40 pharmacies, it's new
network of recreational cannabis dispensaries will initially grow
across Western Canada, before
expanding to include additional provinces where legally
permissible.
Meta is dedicated to providing safe and responsible access to
the legal recreational, adult-use cannabis market and has submitted
applications for licences in metropolitan areas, rural areas in
addition to aligning with First Nations for locations on Indigenous
land. The premium stores will be built around a model of customer
education, immersive retail environments, technology and quality
cannabis and cannabis-related product offerings, with a balanced
range of pricing and product lines. The brand position is based on
health & wellness, inclusivity and positivity for a range of
customers interested in cannabis products being a part of their
lifestyle.
"Leveraging our deep knowledge of safety, security and harm
reduction from our existing national network of medical cannabis
clinics, NAC developed the Meta brand to appeal to health-conscious
Canadians who embrace the benefits of quality cannabis products,"
said Mark Goliger, CEO of NAC. "With
strong First Nations and Licensed Producer relationships in
addition to our exciting strategic alliance with Second Cup in
prime retail locations, NAC is set to develop a broad retail
network across Western Canada.
Meta will provide our recreational customers with exceptional in
store experiences in an environment where education and access to
quality products are our top priorities."
"We've built the Meta brand around an essential brand message of
"Life Uplifted", fostering a cannabis culture focused on a
lifestyle enhanced through positivity," said Matt Ryan, NAC VP of Marketing. "Ultimately this
means we want to embed a premium experience in everything we do,
including the quality of our products, innovation of our store
design, complementary technology, service and enriching our
customers to feel welcome in our stores and community."
NAC has developed its Meta retail and digital platform to
rethink how cannabis retail and e-commerce consumers will behave
and purchase in both the retail and online environments while
implementing innovation to drive customer satisfaction and brand
loyalty. The initial store concept designs show a strategic
placement of consumer education, in-store technology, merchandising
and POS which will aid in the customer experience in a retail
environment. Meta retail stores and the Meta e-shop will be
carrying leading cannabis products, including products supplied by
CannaRoyalty Corp. (CSE: CRZ) (OTCQX: CNNRF), and Tilray.
As the company previously announced, it has established a
strategic alliance with The Second Cup Ltd. ("Second Cup")
(TSX:SCU), Canada's second-largest
retailer of speciality coffee, to develop and operate a network of
Meta recreational cannabis dispensaries across Western Canada, expanding to include
additional provinces where legally permissible. NAC will apply for
licenses to dispense cannabis products and upon receipt, work with
Second Cup and applicable franchisees to leverage Second Cup's
extensive Canadian retail footprint to construct retail stores
carrying leading cannabis products. Conversion of any Second Cup
café to a Meta Cannabis Supply Co. branded and NAC operated
recreational cannabis dispensary is conditional upon obtaining a
retail license from provincial regulators and the approval of
Second Cup and the applicable franchisee and landlord.
In February 2018, NAC was
successfully awarded one of four licenses by the government of
Manitoba to operate privately
owned retail cannabis stores in the Province, conditional upon
several factors as outlined in the Province's November 2017 Request for Proposals ("RFP").
Under the terms of the Retail Organization Agreement with the
Manitoba Provincial Government, NAC will be permitted to build,
develop and operate Meta Cannabis Supply Co. stores in approved
municipalities in the Province. The number of Meta locations
remains subject to ongoing discussion with the Province. In support
of the Company's retail strategy in Manitoba, NAC intends to leverage the Limited
Partnership Agreements (the "Agreements") signed with five
Manitoban Indigenous First Nations. Under the terms of the
Agreements, each of the Opaskwayak Cree Nation, Long Plain First Nation, Peguis First Nation,
Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation and Brokenhead Ojibway Nation have
partnered with NAC to establish a retail recreational cannabis
distribution network in Manitoba,
when legally permissible to do so.
For more Meta Cannabis Supply Co. news, follow @metasupplyco on
Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Meta Supply Co. on YouTube.
metacannabis.com
About National Access Cannabis
National Access Cannabis is Canada's best practices leader in delivering
secure, safe, and responsible access to legal cannabis. Through its
Canada-wide network of care
centres, NAC enables patients and the public to gain knowledge and
access to Canada's network of
authorized Licensed Producers of Cannabis. National Access Cannabis
Corp. is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol (TSXV:
NAC). For more information, visit
www.nationalaccesscannabis.com
Cautionary Statements
This news release contains forward looking statements and
forward looking information within the meaning of applicable
securities laws. The use of any of the words
"expect", "anticipate", "continue", "estimate", "objective",
"ongoing", "may", "will", "project", "should", "believe", "plans",
"intends" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward
looking statements or information. Forward-looking statements and
information in this news release includes, but is not limited to,
statements concerning future developments, including
the strategic alliance between the Company and Second Cup, the
Company's plans to open additional retail locations
and an e-commerce website. Although the Company believes that
the expectations and assumptions on which the forward looking
statements and information are based are reasonable, undue reliance
should not be placed on the forward looking statements and
information because the Company cannot give any assurance that
it will prove to be correct. Since forward looking
statements and information address future events and conditions, by
their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties.
Actual results could differ materially from those currently
anticipated due to a number of factors and risks. These include,
but are not limited to, risks associated with general economic
conditions; failure to obtain licenses to dispense cannabis
products; failure to obtain the consent of applicable landlords and
franchisees to the conversion of Second Cup cafés into recreational
cannabis dispensaries; regulatory resistance in certain provinces
to opening privately owned and operated recreational cannabis
dispensaries; adverse industry events; marketing costs; loss of
markets; future legislative and regulatory developments involving
cannabis; inability to access sufficient capital from internal and
external sources, and/or inability to access sufficient capital on
favourable terms; the medical and potential cannabis industry in
Canada generally; income tax and
regulatory matters; the ability of the Company and/or Second Cup to
implement their business strategies; competition; crop failure;
currency and interest rate fluctuations; and other risks.The
Company cautions that the foregoing list of risks and uncertainties
is not exhaustive.
In addition, the reader is cautioned that historical results
are not necessarily indicative of future performance. The
forward-looking statements and information contained in this news
release are made as of the date hereof the Company undertakes
no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward
looking statement or information, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by
applicable securities laws.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation
Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the
TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this release.
SOURCE National Access Cannabis Corp.